WASHINGTON "” The first-ever U.S. case of mad cow disease (search) is suspected in a single cow in Washington state, but the American food supply is safe, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Tuesday.
"We remain confident in the safety of our food supply," said Veneman.
She told a news conference that a single Holstein cow that was either sick or injured -- thus never destined for the U.S. food supply -- tested presumptively positive for the brain-wasting illness.
Mad cow disease, known also as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a disease that eats holes in the brains of cattle. It sprang up in Britain in 1986 and spread through countries in Europe and Asia, prompting massive destruction of herds and decimating the European beef industry.
"This incident is not terrorist-related," Veneman said Tuesday. "I cannot stress this point strongly enough."
Veneman said the apparently diseased cow was found at a farm in Mapleton, Wash., about 40 miles southeast of Yakima. She said the farm has been quarantined.
"Even though the risk to human health is minimal, we will take all appropriate actions out of an abundance of caution," she said.
Samples from the cow have been sent to Britain for confirmation of the preliminary mad cow finding, she said.
Mad cow disease has never been found in the United States before this incident despite intensive testing for it.
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I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know one time I secretly wanted to be a writer.---C.K. Dexter Haven
Two questions:
1. Even though I don't believe this is terrorist initiated, how in the world can she say positively that this is not an act of terrorism. She can't possibly know that.
2. How can one single cow in Washington State contract mad cow disease? Hmmmmmm?
critch
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There are exceptions to every rule...including this one.
Why has this thread not exploded into 3 pages ? This will destroy the USA cattle industry, and thats only if this is the only case, which it will not be.
This is a huge deal, bigger IMO than the war on Iraq because it will hit every family in this country and hit hard ...
I just heard that some of the meat may have made it to the market. I wonder which parts.
I've got this figured out. Here's what happened.
A terrorist flew from Saudi Arabia to Washington state and parachuted out over the Tri-Cities. But because of the prevailing winds in that area he drifted east a bit and landed on a beef ranch. Well, this cranked him up, so he took his baggie of Mad-Cow-laced oats out his pocket and fed it to the first cow that walked up to him.
It just happened to be Bessie, the holstein. She was too old to give milk so she was sold at auction for what little meat she had left on her.
She liked the oats and ate them all. The terrorist then hitch-hiked to Seattle where he is posing as a religious Guru, and will live a happy and very wealthy life.
Bessie of course, developed Mad Cow Disease. Her strange behavior was over looked because she was just a holstein and strange behavior is characteristic of the breed.
She was bonked in the head, butchered, and half of her was sent to market. But because we weren't told until today that part of Bessie was in the
market, I went to the market yesterday. I bought a package of Bessie beef and ate her up!
Now I'm gonna die. But you're probably gonna die too, because I'm pretty certain you bought and ate a package of Bessie beef. We're all gonna die!
And that's what happened.
Merry Christmas y'all
critch
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There are exceptions to every rule...including this one.
I figure Im more likely to be struck by lighting three time in one day than to get Mad Cow or CWD.
The boycott by the other countries does not bother me, it's the same political or precautionary thing we did to Canada and England and they both survived it.
Pass the T-bones and I'll have gravy with that roast
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
If you think 9-11 played heck with our economy just wait and see what a shot of mad-cow disease will do, it will effect almost every business especially in the midwest.
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THE NRA, WHERE WOULD YOU AS A GUN-OWNER BE WITHOUT THEM.
GUN-OWNERS, UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL.
Fng may not be totally correct regarding the cause of this report or incident of BSE/Mad Cow Disease but he demonstrates the correct degree of concern for the average consumer in the USA. Bovine Spongifrom Encephalopathy has been around for a long time. Evidence of its existence way be seen in this poem from around 1637 by John Milton.
"The hungry Sheep look up, and are not fed,
But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread"¦"
Research began regarding BSE in the 1800s. Further between 1990 and December of 2003 the deaths contributed to the disease variant Creutfeldt-Jakob (the disease as it exist in humans contracting it from the consumsion of limited parts of the cattle) number approximately 927 in the United Kingdom where the number of cases of BSE/mad cow disease number between 180,000 and 200,000. Cases of BSE out side of UK are under 1200 in countries in close proximity and involved in trade relations with the UK.
Now I don"™t think it is nothing to be concerned about but I do believe that you are more likely to be killed in a vehicle accident than contract variant Creutfeldt-Jokabs.
Merry Christmas to you one and all
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
FNG, I may be wrong but I thought Argentina beef had been banned from the U.S. on count of foot and mouth disease, But it may just ban the importation of live animals , I'm not sure.
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THE NRA, WHERE WOULD YOU AS A GUN-OWNER BE WITHOUT THEM.
GUN-OWNERS, UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL.
Mad Cow Disease in Washington State...
